Embracing It

Today is my birthday.

It seems the older we get, the less we want to celebrate birthdays. Truthfully, I 'm guilty of telling people for years now that I'm 29. But I'm stepping out on the ledge today to expose my age. It's not one of the milestone birthdays that society tells you to celebrate with black balloons and depressing wise cracks about drooping skin and other body parts. That birthday comes next year.

Today I celebrate my 49th birthday and the first day of my 50th year of life. I plan on embracing this 50th year with all the hoopla, excitement and passion I can muster. I will not dread the passing of time until I turn the big Five O! I'm determined to anticipate and adore each and every sunrise, chirping bird, raindrop, snowflake, friendship, family member, laugh, tear...right down to every tick-tock marked on the clock.

So, I've made a list. Fifty things. Comprised of spending time with the people I love, places I've always wanted to go, favorite things, dreams I've always wanted to fulfill, and some just plain absurd and nonsensical things. Dean has coined my list "The Filthy Fifty." It's growing on me...I think I'll keep the title! For now I'm keeping the list to myself. Let's just say that an instrument, a foreign country, pie, and my camera are included. Of course I'll blog about every single one of the Filthy Fifty.

To start things off, if you happen to be in Anthropologie this afternoon...I'll be the one with lots of shopping bags. As an Anthropologie shopping spree is the first item on my Filthy Fifty List.

Jiggybars

The jiggystick team has been very busy here at world headquarters.


It's such an exciting process to watch an idea come to fruition. After months and months of planning, crafting, designing, ordering, testing, etc...the "idea" is ready for production.

Mixing and weighing


following the formula precisely as our chemist crafted it.

We had a mold motif designed by our talented graphic artist and then sent off to a lab for specialty molds made to those exact design specifications.

Mango butter, macadamia nut oil, and this gorgeous hemp butter

are combined with beeswax from our apiary along with jojoba, olive, and fragrance oils.

Mixing is very precise...right down to the tenth of a gram.

It's all very exciting at this point.

And the smell is simply divine!

Each bar must be filled to the exact

specified weight.

The engineer and the chemist look for bubbles in the lotion bars that form around the tiny bee in the mold.

Once cooled, the lotion bars are unmolded and then carefully wrapped up, and placed in hexagon containers.

Add a label and there you have it! Jiggybars! You can find them at jiggystick.com.

That was a great idea you had there Dean. 

Fakes-giving

My absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving is cooking and baking with my daughters...I think they both feel the same. Since Cass will be celebrating the holiday with hubby's family this year, I thought it would be fun if we had our own early "Fakes-giving!"


Discussing pie recipes, Dean jumped into the planning details and suggested we make a pumpkin pie completely from scratch. He's always FULL of good ideas and so helpful when it comes to pie!

Surprisingly...though I am known as the pie queen, I have never made my own pumpkin pie puree. Cass and I did some googling where The Pioneer Woman assured us it was super easy and totally worth the effort!

Ugh...I always inadvertently leave my cabinet doors open when I cook.

Grown specifically for baking, we carefully cut the perfect pumpkins into halves...

maybe enjoying the cutting part a little too much!

Convincing Dean that this is the part he's always good at, he helped us scrape out the pumpkin guts.

This was probably our least favorite part. I use the word "our" loosely since clearly I am behind the camera and not elbow deep in pumpkin guts!

Ready for roasting!

After roasting the chunks for twice as long as The Pioneer Woman instructed...the pumpkin was finally fork tender and ready to puree.

Puree...and puree...and puree some more!

We were so proud...practically Pioneer Women ourselves!

As for the results...yes! One Hundred and Ten Percent yes! The flavor, the texture, the pie! Absolutely worth the effort and I would do it again!

Thanks a bunch Dean...that just made Pie Night more intense and complicated!

Family

Birthdays are always a big deal here at The Garlick Press no matter the age being celebrated. This time, it happened to be Cassandra's day. Twinkling beautiful blue eyes give away the depth of her happiness.


Even though surrounded by two little people who keep her constantly busy and sleepless and running...Cass is blissfully happy with her little family. Someone is always coughing or barfing or pooping or crying or all of the above. If you don't believe me just try to carry on a phone conversation with her. But her joy through all of it is what I find remarkable. It is a profound reminder of what it takes to be a family.

 Family is that unconditional place you can always count on for love and adoration and a good story or two.

The place that might annoy you on occasion

but also make you gleeful. Goodness this photo got me. His smile and her smile adoring the annoyed two-year old...they are so much alike, right down to their grins.

Family is the place where kisses are passed along like gentle breezes in Autumn...gracing regularly along cheeks and lips and foreheads...

and the place where smiles are as plentiful as sunshine.

Family is the place where birthdays will always be celebrated...complete with candles whether or not it is cake or pie!

The place where wishes can still come true.

Family...it has to be one of the most beautiful masterpieces of life!

Punkin Patch Pickin

I love Fall...I know everyone says that.

But I truly love Fall, especially where I live.

Crisp cool night time temperatures warm into perfect golden days

where the Autumn sun kisses mountain leaves

making them twist and twirl and blush their colors of Fall.

It's the perfect time to gather at the Fredrickson Family Pumpkin Patch.

Where little girl cousins with chocolate on the end of their noses embrace.

And little boy cousins scout out the perfect pumpkin. It's important to have first choice.

And no matter what anyone says...

I am big enough to pick up this pumpkin all by myself!

OK...Dad can nip it off the vine, but that's all.

I can do the rest.

Because I'm big you know!

Perfectly capable of doing this by myself.

A quick wash and they are all ready to take home to be carved up for Halloween frights.

Carter,

Henry,

Camden,

Olivia,

Lola,

and Ambree all got to drive Grandpa's tractor...even if they didn't actually go anywhere.


Not sure what these two were up to...but I'm sure it is not trouble.

A little time to throw kids in the air.

One Two Three and blast off!

I love Lola trying to help her Daddy throw Olivia in the air.

Don't forget to give Henry a turn too.

My brother's giant hands wrap around his newest grandbaby Hazel, who is so beautifully named after my grandmother Hazel.

Before heading for home with our treasured Jack-o-lanterns to be...Grandpa Max wants to make sure we each take home a ginormous squash as well.

All done punkin pickin for this year...we picked the perfect ones Grandpa Max. Thank you!